Young South Koreans look for love at Buddhist temple as country fights record-low birthrate
At a centuries-old South Korean temple perched above the sea, blindfolded participants walked hand in hand on Saturday, taking turns to guide each other by describing the scenery, a monk following quietly behind as the pairs made their way towards a gate where, legend has it, dreams come true. The trust-building walk was part of a Buddhist matchmaking retreat at Naksansa, a temple founded in 671 CE during the Silla era on South Korea’s northeastern coast in Yangyang County. Ten single men and ten single women in their 20s and 30s gathered there for a two-day, one-night blind date program run by the Korean Buddhist Foundation for Social Welfare, which launched the initiative in 2023 to help tackle the country’s low birthrate by matching young singles. Although South Korea has one of the world’s lowest birthrates, interest in the program has grown as this round drew a record 4,225 applicants for just 20 spots, the foundation said. The organization announced on Sunday (July 12) that five couples were matched.
REUTERS VIDEO
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